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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · cabinet · fall · chest · pound · lash · fork · field

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. field — a subject
  4. fall — the season
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. fork — in a road
  11. field — for sport
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — farmland
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. fall — to drop

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com